Portable air conditioner



June 17, 1941. SCHECHTEL ETAL 2,246,069

PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER Filed Nov. 2'7, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g fm eman 1 Har/ySc/zechel 0 Marcus 6. Wag/zit OR EY June 17, 1941. SCHECHTEL ETAL 2,246,069

PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER Filed Nov. 27. 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lm/enzar: fiizrvy Sc/zac/giel m:

'of suitable attachment screws Patented June 17, 1941 2,246,069 PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER Harry Schechtel and Marcus G.

Wright, Denver,

0010., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Edward Schechtel, Denver, 0010.

Application November 27, 1939, Serial No. 306,296

(Cl. 2s1 30) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable air conditioner and has for its principal object the provision of a highly efiicient device for producing and continuously humidiiying an air stream.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an efiicient driving device for a humidifying mechanism whichwill require no adjustments and which will wear indefinitely; to provide a highly eflicient electrical heating unit for air conditioning devices; to provide means for automatically retarding the velocity of the air stream when the heating element is in operation so that the air may be raised to a comparatively high temperature with little expenditure of energy; to provide a construction which will be neat, compact, and easily portable; and to provide efllcient means whereby water or ice or both may be easily placed in the conditioner.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is de= signed forv simplicity, economy, and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invntion reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts ings and throughout the description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved portable air conditioner.

Fi 2 is an end view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, vertical section, taken on the line 3-3, Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating the fan motor and heating element mounting.

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the humidifying wheel.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section throughjthe filling door, taken on the line 6-6, Fig. 1, illustrating the door in the open position.

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram illustrating the circuits employed in the device.

The improved air conditioner is enclosed in an ornamental portable housing l8, preferably, but not necessarily, having an ovalescent cross section with open extremities and provided with a carrying handle ill and supporting feet 32. water pan it is formed in the bottom of the housing it. The two open extremities of the housing are closed by means of ornamental griils it which may be secured to the housing by means is enclosed within the fan blades is. "line An electric fan motor id housing to drive suitable in all views of the drawswitch 3t so that when the switch i motor is supported within a frame consisting of an inner ring band I5 and an outer ring band I! separated by radial plates l8 of electrical insulating, fire-proof material, such as pressed asbestos. The motor and its frame are supported from the inner wall of the housing upon bracket members it.

The motor is of the oscillating fan type. Motors of this type are on the market and are provided with worm gear transmissions driven from the rear extremity of the motor shaft and mounted within'a transmission housing 20 on the rear of the motor. The transmission drives a vertical slow speed shaft to which an oscillating mechanism is usually connected.

To adapt such a motor for a small friction wheel 2i is speed shaft which is in the housing 26.

A humidiiying wheel 22 is journalled on a supporting stud 23 carried bers'lt below the motor and to the rear thereof. A compression spring 2 2 on the stud constantly forces the periphery of the humidifying wheel against the friction wheel 2i. The humidiiying wheel is preferably a sheet metal stamping formed with spokes 25. The material intermediate the spokes is cut into relatively long pointed fingers 26 which are bent to extend from the outer face of the wheel. These fingers form supports for humidifying pads 21 consisting of strips of absorbent material, such as spun glass, woven in and out among the fingers.

The lower edge of the wheel is continuously immersed in water in the pan it so that each pad, as it reaches the bottom, will become saturated. The pads are maintained moistened during their travel over the top of the wheel by means of water cups 28 which are secured to the periphery of the wheel. As the wheel rotates, these cups will fill with water and, as the top is approached, the water will be poured onto the pads to maintain them moist. s

In actual practice the humidifying wheel rotates very slowly, approximately one-half a revolution per minute, so that the damp pads are mounted on the slow driven by the worm gearing slowly moved across the air stream flowing to the fan while the fan is in operation.

A series of electrical heating coils 2?} are trained through suitable openings in the radial plates it about the motor so as to be directly in the air stream. The coils are connected in series with the motor to and with one pole of a double throw L'own in through. the

one direction, it'will pass current the present purpose,

by the bracket memwhich acts in the nature of a vortex tube to draw additional air from around the fan as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3, so that this additional air is impelled by the fan stream through the conditioner housing. The capacity is greatly increased by the ring bands.

A small filling door 33 .opens through one wall of the housing In. The door 33 is mounted on a horizontal hinge 34 at its bottom and is provided with arcuate side flaps 35 which limit the amount of opening of the door and which also form a funnel-like structure into which water may be poured for filling the water pan and through which, if desired, crushed ice or ice cubes may be inserted for cooling the water.

The ring 11 is of a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the fan l5 and acts to confine and direct the air stream therefrom. The friction drive is particularly valuable in a device of this character since it is not effected in any way by the moisture to which the humidifying wheel is constantly subjected and since it will wear practically indefinitely without attention, as the spring 24 accommodates all wear on the friction wheel 2|.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An air conditioner comprising: a housing open at its extremities; a motor supported within saidhousing; a fan in said housing arranged to said housing; a water pan in the bottom of said housing; a humidifying wheel positioned laterally of said housing with its lower periphery immersed in said pan; segment-shaped flaps cut from the material of said wheel and inclined outward from one face thereof; absorbent material secured to said inclined flaps to absorb water from said pan; and means for driving said wheel from said motor.

2. An air conditioner comprising: a housing open at its extremities; a motor supported within said housing; a fan in said housing arranged to be driven by said motor to pass air through said housing; a water pan in the-bottom of said housing; a humidifying wheel positioned laterally of said housing with its lower periphery immersed in said pan; segment-shaped flaps cut from the material of said wheel and inclined outward from one face thereof; absorbent pads carried by said flaps; cups mounted about the periphery of said wheel to elevate water from said pan to said pads; and means for driving said wheel from said motor.

HARRY SQHECHTEL. MARCUS G. WRIGHT. 

